He's going to be paying Khurrum Awan $80,000 for "reckless disregard for the truth". I've read the decision, and will excerpt a bit tomorrow, and try to post it if it isn't available elsewhere by that time, but it isn't really that interesting if you have followed Levant's career. He spread evil bullshit intent on destroying careers and lives and when brought before the legal system, got hosed. Just like all the previous occasions. And just like the next time, because it's hard to imagine the Warman v. Levant case being any less of a slam dunk. Ezra's dad will have to dig deep to pay all his kid's legal bills.
Update: Judgement is here.
Thanks for linking the decision.
ReplyDeleteHarry? Heard you was dead, man. Keep on keepin on.
ReplyDeleteYeah, thanks for the link. $80-large plus costs. The important part of the decision, to me at least, was the finding of the trial judge that Ezra is a malicious little shit. Malice determined his fate. Once Levant's propensity to malice is established once or twice more, he'll be dead meat in future defamation cases.
ReplyDeleteVia con Diablo, Ezra.
The National Post says that one of Levant's own arguments was essentially that his words were not defamatory because no one takes Levant seriously. Oh man.
ReplyDeleteThere are more to come
ReplyDeleteAt least three I know of. Maybe four. Warman and several members of Alberta Human Rights body. All entirely separate.
ReplyDeleteNot sure how much of the judgement is sui generis and how much will be of precedential value to other cases. If you have to very careful about labeling someone an anti-Semite (which does seem to make some sense as a matter of fairness) it may well be the case that you also can't call someone a supporter of apartheid (also a type of racism, and, in fact a form of racism that actually is defined against a crime against humanity) without a like defense being available.
ReplyDeleteHow much longer can the Sun justify having him on the payroll? Losing one libel suit is bad enough but can be excused as a one-off lapse, losing two suggests a systematic credibility issue.
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ReplyDelete(had to correct some spelling errors...apologies) Well clearly its more than 2 libel cases.We have the abject apologies from the Sun for Ezra's suggesting that George Soros, a child survivor of the Holocuast was a Nazi collaborator; we have Levant's second apology to the Roma people for his hateful attack against them which came within a whisker of him being charged under Canada's anti-hate laws. To the best of my knowledge no other network entertainer, new writer or public pundit anywhere in the world has had such issues and has still received the total support of their employer.
ReplyDeletewith all the media attn on badly behaved staff and the bully word being thrown about, I wonder why there isnt a "Star" expose of the rise of ezra levant and how his hypocrisy continues. Champion of freespeech, yeah whatever:P
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